PREGNANT while nursing student???
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I'm just curious who has or is currently experiencing being pregnant while in nursing school. I am awaiting placement into a nursing program, either a 16-month accelerated RN program or the... Read More

Oct 6, '06

What you have to keep in mind, is what you cannot control. All pregnancies don't go perfectly, and not everyone can work to term. A c-section can put you out for 8 weeks. No matter what your current health or family history.

I think it's smart to plan to have the baby after you finish the program....if it were me, I would allow at least 4 months clearance.

Good Luck!

Last edit by BSNtobe2009 on Oct 6, '06

Oct 6, '06

This topic came up between hubby and I recently too...I pretty much told him I wanted to wait until I graduated nursing school, otherwise I was really scared I wouldn't ever make it all the way through. I won't be finished until May of '09. One of my suggestions though, was to maybe start trying, or at least stop taking precautions, in my last semester and then see what happens. I hadn't thought much about morning sickness or anything though...Guys, please keep us posted on how everything works out! Interesting thread!

Oct 8, '06

Hi There.
I Wanted To Put In My Two Cents. I Think That What You Are Planning Is Doable But It Might Be Difficult. You Don't Know What Kind Of Pregnancy You'll Have. It May Be High Risk, You May Have Severe Morning Sickness. Anything Is Liable To Happen, Though I Wish You The Best Of Luck.
Plus, After The Baby Is Born You Won't Have As Much Time To Spend With Him/her. It Hurts When You Have To Leave Your Little Ones To Go Study A&p.
My Baby Was Three Months Old When I Started My Pre Req And It Was A Horrible Experience Because She Didn't Sleep. I Thought That Everthing Would Be Easy, But It Didn't Turn Out That Way. She Took Catnaps During The Day In The Durationof About 10 Minutes. If You Put Her Down, She Would Wake Up Screaming. If You Put Her Down To Play For A While, She Would Cry. I Couldn't Get Anything Done. At Night She Got Up Every Few Hours To Nurse Until She Was 12 Months Old. I Was Stressed Out. But I Did It. She Is Now 16 Months Old And She Sleeps Through The Night. She Takes A Short Nap During The Day And She Isn't As Clingy. And I Was Able To Do Well In All My Classes. I Am Now In My First Semester Of Nursing Courses.
My Point Is That Anything Can Happen No Matter How You Plan It.
But You'll Make The Right Decision For Your Family.
Best Wishes!

Oct 8, '06

wait wait wait!!!

i absolutely adore my children (12, 7 and 14mos.) however i wish i had decided to go to nursing school years ago before i had the responsibility of a family. the challenges of pregnancy can wipe you out and don't forget the joy/exhaustion of a newborn. my youngest had severe reflux and ended up in the hospital at 4 weeks. it was totally unexpected but there was no way i would have been able to even make it to class let alone put in all the required study time.

finish school then have many, many babies :smiley_aa you will have so much more time to enjoy them. you won't have to go study when all you really want to do is play and snuggle.

Oct 9, '06

Quote from katonialynn

Wait wait wait!!!

You won't have to go study when all you really want to do is play and snuggle.

I just posted about how I got a D in my A&P exam and one of the things I didn't mention was alot of the reason for all my tears was because I spend so much time away from my kids studying and to see a terrible grade and think to myself, "is all this worth the time I sacrifice with my babies?" My kids are 2 and 7 and all I ever want to do is hug them or watch Dora or Nick Jr. when I'm stuck in textbooks, have a minute to make dinner, tuck them into bed and there goes my time with them. I try to make it okay by hoping they won't remember how much time I didn't spend with them because of school when they are older. I say wait. I know how it must feel to just have that maternal pang that won't go away. I too wish I did all this before my kids were born because if I did, I could opt to work part time and have more time with my kids. Work is work, you go to work and your day is over. School is different, you go to school and you go home and you are studying all night with brief interruptions. I had a fairly typical textbook pregnancy with my daughter but had a horrible delivery resulting in a c-section that went wrong and took me several months to heal and go back to work. With my son, my pregancy was awful from the beginning and during the 7th month I was on bed rest but had a really quick natural labor and delivery and was back to normal in 2 days! My daughter slept all night. My son woke up every half hour and I never fully understood exhaustion until that point of my life. My point is, pregancy and infants are unpredictable. What is predictable is how a mother misses her babies so much and how it gets confusing at times as to why we decide to do all this when it feels like our kids are missing out. Like the others said, "doable" yes but IMO wait and have more time for hugs and kisses.
Good Luck!

Nov 4, '06

Quote from IvoryLena

Today I found out I passed Nclex so it was a good day. What was NOT a good day were all the days I had morning sickness during two final semesters or when I went to the SNA convention vomitting everywhere. Being nine months pregnant and being asked to move a 200 lb person made me want to smack some people. My pregnancy was unexpected but honestly I think the staff and my peers were AWESOME to me. I had problems in the last semester with clinical because I would pass out if stood on my feet too long. My instructor actually caught me one time (an knowing her reputation I'm suprised she just didn't let me hit the ground) But she was VERY understanding and would let me take breaks and take the chart and go sit down if I was tired. I wouldn't suggest getting pregnant during school if you can avoid it but I really dont think it was bad at all. The hardest part of it was after I graduated when I was trying to study for NCLEX and watching a newborn at the same time. Not to mention your graduating photos dont come out to good when your as big as a house. But Looking back I dont regret it all. I was actually not even the only girl nine months pregnant in my nursing clinical group. An I would really have to say being around a bunch of caring, compassionate, and highly resourceful(my friend used to keep a emegency chocolate bar in case I got hungry) group of student nurses was wonderful. Writing this makes me miss everyone, they treated me like a queen. But luckily for me I didnt have to miss any school, morning sickness or not, I was always there and had no major complications. :wink2:

Your my idol! I just found out I'm pregnant and I'm freaking out-sord of. I know I can do it, I'm a strong girl.
I start my first semester of Nursing school in January, and I'll be giving birth in June looks like.

Not exactly how I pictured nursing school. THankfully I have all pre reqs out of the way and only will have my nursing courses to focus on.

I'm determined to become a nurse. I know i can do it, but it's nice to hear that others have done it too!

Thank you for your post!

Nov 4, '06

For some women, being pregnant brings hypersensitivity to smell... morning sickness and the likes... but if you really want a child I would suggest planning it out so you are in your last trimester during the summer.

Nov 4, '06

Personally I would wait if you have the choice. My personal experience with school and pregnacy weren't great. During pre-req's I was pregnant with my third (single) baby. I gave birth on Thursday and was back in class on Tuesday. The HARDEST thing I've done so far. Also given that my first pregnancy was unexpected twins, I look back and think that if I'd had been pregnant with the twins during pre-req's I'd have had to quit due to the high risk factor. Just some things to consider for yourself. Someone else said that you never know what kind of pregnancy you are going to have (and that's SOOO true), sure it may be a fantastic breezy experience or it might not be. You have to be the one to know if you are willing to take the chance having to put off nursing school if circumstances don't go your way. Plus, just remember that babies don't care if you have to study or need to get sleep before a really hard test, believe me when I say that the times I absolutely NEEDED to study for a really big test were the times it seemed my babies got the sickest or needed to go to the hospital. Just thought I'd share my own personal experience. Hope it helps.

Nov 4, '06

One thing I am seeing in most of the posts, is "how will having a baby affect MY plans?" I don't think I've seen anything about this new little, helpless human person being brought into the world. How will nursing school AFFECT THE CHILD???
Your child, in his/her most vulnerable state, will not have his <generic term, please> mother caring for him. No one else in the world (not grandma, not a neighbor, certainly not day care) will love that child and care for him as would you <or husband, but even then, a father does care for a child in a different way than does a mother. Brains/hormones/emotions are just wired differently in males and females. I AM NOT SAYING DADS ARE NOT GOOD PARENTS, just different than moms.
and that's a *good* thing.
If you choose to bring a child into this world, it will take a lot more time after birth than before. Children are labor INTENSIVE, much more even than nursing school. When he is hungry, he has to be fed then- a baby doesn't understand studying, only his own needs. I was never so exhausted as when i had a 15 month old and a newborn. EVERYTHING else was let go other than child care (ask my husband- he felt very neglected and as if I didn't care for him anymore. Let's not even talk about keeping house. ONLY the basics were done. Oh, and I was NOT working outside the home OR going to school at the time)

Make this decision with your brain, not your heart or hormones. It is a decision that cannot be reversed, and affects your child for all his life.

Your my idol! I just found out I'm pregnant and I'm freaking out-sord of. I know I can do it, I'm a strong girl.
I start my first semester of Nursing school in January, and I'll be giving birth in June looks like.

Not exactly how I pictured nursing school. THankfully I have all pre reqs out of the way and only will have my nursing courses to focus on.

I'm determined to become a nurse. I know i can do it, but it's nice to hear that others have done it too!

Thank you for your post!

Hi,
I know this post is really old but I wanted to ask you how nursing school went while being pregnant. I just found out and I am starting nursing school in July. I will be due around mid December. Was it doable?!